Remember Me
by Iron Robin
Summary: Sportacus is LazyTown's hero. It's as simple as that. He saves anyone, anytime. But what happens when he fails to save someone? Will LazyTown, and even Sportacus himself, ever be the same? (But is the LazyTowner he lost truly gone? A memory deprived Stephanie will have to find her way back without the help of the ones she loves most, or LazyTown will remain changed forever.) HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**So I know what you're thinking (if you're one of the ones who's read my other stories, that is). "What the heck is Iron Robin doing writing a fanfic about _LazyTown?_ " (#noshame) And honestly, I have no excuse. What can I say? Make a show about a superhero and I'll watch it. Besides, I used to watch _LazyTown_ every Saturday when I was little and even to this day it makes me happy. And I guess part of me wishes there was more serious conflict in the show. I knew I wasn't going to get that so I decided to write it instead.**

 **Anyway, this isn't a SportaSteph story. Honestly, I've always seen Sportacus as more of a father figure to Stephanie than a love interest (they're too far apart in age for that). I might write another fic about an older Stephanie paired with Sportacus, but that's somewhere way off in the future.**

 **But without further ado, here's _Remember Me._ (I don't own _LazyTown_ or its characters, by the way.)**

* * *

 _"It's looking like another great day in LazyTown,"_ Stephanie wrote in her diary, a pleasant smile curling her lips upward. _"My friends and I are playing basketball and-"_

"Hey, Stephanie! Come play with us, huh?" Ziggy cried, making Stephanie pause in her writing and glance up at him. She opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Stingy.

"But this ball is _miiine._ I never said _you_ could play with it!"

Stephanie giggled and set her diary down on the bench before leaping up to make her way over to the two boys. "Come on, Stingy. You know it's more fun when we all play together."

Stingy pursed his lips and looked down at his ball for several long seconds, making slight moaning sounds as he did so. It went on for so long that Stephanie was about to ask her friend if he was all right when he finally answered.

"Oh, I guess you're right." He sighed. "Here."

Stephanie grinned when he tossed her the ball. "Thanks, Stingy!"

"Pass it to me, Stephanie!" Ziggy called, jumping up and down. "Pass it to me! I'm open!"

"Okay. Here you go, Ziggy!" She called back, hurling the ball in his direction.

Ziggy handily caught the ball and then turned toward the basketball hoop. "Okay, watch this! I'm going to make a slam dunk!"

Stingy shot Stephanie a doubtful look. "He'll never be able to dunk _myyy_ ball."

Stephanie didn't want to admit that Stingy probably had a point so instead she cupped her hands around her mouth and called encouragingly. "You can do it, Ziggy!"

"Okay, here I go!" Ziggy cried, leaping up into the air with all of his might.

Stephanie and Stingy's mouths dropped open when it appeared that Ziggy might actually get the ball through the hoop. But just before he did, he released it too soon and it bounced off the rim, sailing into a tree near the Sport's Field.

"Aw," Stephanie said with sympathy, walking over to Ziggy and laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "That was so close, Ziggy! You'll get it next time for sure."

Ziggy sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Stephanie. But thanks anyway."

"Oh, no!" Stingy suddenly cried.

"It's okay, Stingy," Ziggy said with another massive sigh. "At least I _almost_ made it."

"What? No. I'm not talking about your failure-"

"Stingy!" Stephanie gasped, putting her hands on her hips.

Stingy ignored her. "I'm talking about my ball! It's stuck in the tree! I _have_ to get it."

"Um, Stingy?" Stephanie started uncertainly, following him as he made his way over to the tree. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of _course_ , it is," he argued even as he began to climb the tree. "I can't just leave my ball up there all alone!"

Ziggy fidgeted nervously. "Ohhh, be careful, Stingy!"

The other boy rolled his eyes as he clambered onto the tree branch and stretched his arm out toward his ball. But the ball was just out of reach so he inched a little further along the branch. "Almost…got it…"

Stephanie bit her lip as she watched him. She could tell that if he went any further he would fall. And it looked like he was about to do just that. "Stingy, look out!"

But it was too late. The next step Stingy took along the branch ended in his foot slipping. He let out a shriek as he fell and quickly grabbed the branch, but he was only holding on by his fingertips. "Heeelllp!"

"Hang on, Stingy!" Stephanie and Ziggy cried in unison.

* * *

Sportacus was going about his morning as usual, brushing his teeth (twenty times up and twenty times down), eating Sportscandy (breakfast was the most important meal of the day), and of course, exercising (he literally couldn't stay still). He was in the middle of that third step when his crystal beeped.

"Someone's in trouble." He frowned, lifting his right hand. "Door!"

Sportacus crouched on the edge of the door and whipped his telescope out. His heart clenched painfully when he spotted Stephanie's pink hair through the glass, but it relaxed slightly when he could tell that it wasn't his favorite LazyTowner (don't tell anyone) who was in trouble. Ziggy, who was standing right beside her, didn't seem to be in any sort of danger, either. So who…

"Stingy!" Sportacus said to himself, setting his telescope down before moving his arms up, down, and then up again in his signature move.

He jumped off the door and flipped through the air, landing on the ground without a hitch. He then leapt into a series of backward handsprings toward the tree he had seen Stingy hanging from. As he drew nearer, he could clearly hear the boy crying for help. He could also hear Stephanie and Ziggy screaming at him to hang on. He could tell the exact moment when Stephanie noticed him because she cried, "Oh, here comes Sportacus! Just a little bit longer, Stingy!"

"I…I…caaan't!" Stingy yelled as his fingers slipped off the branch and he plummeted toward the ground. Fortunately, he never made contact with it because Sportacus flew through the air in a somersault, landed beneath where Stingy was falling, and caught him easily.

"Oh. Oh!" Stingy panted breathlessly.

Sportacus set him down gently. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Yes, I think so. Thank you, Sportacus."

"You're welcome."

Stephanie skipped over to them, beaming from ear to ear. "Sportacus, that was amazing!"

Sportacus grinned down at her. There was something about her positive energy that made him smile whenever she was around. She always brought some extra joy to his day. He almost considered her to be family. But he was getting distracted. Where was he?

"Yeah, Sportacus, that was great!" Ziggy exclaimed, bouncing up and down. Just like Sportacus, he could never stay still. Though that was probably more from all the candy he ate than from a passion for exercise.

(Right. Sportacus had just saved Stingy. _That's_ where he was.) "It was nothing," he insisted. "Although, Stingy, what were you doing in that tree? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"Well, yes, but-" Stingy stammered.

"He was trying to get our ball," Stephanie supplied helpfully.

Stingy stiffened and pointed a finger at himself. "I think you mean _myyy_ ball."

She laughed and rolled her eyes briefly. "Fine. He was trying to get _his_ ball."

"Oh." Sportacus glanced upward and held up a finger. "One second."

He leapt up and grabbed the branch with ease. He then grasped the ball in one hand and dropped back down. "Here you go, Stingy."

Stingy eagerly snatched the ball away from him. "Thank you."

"It's no problem." Sportacus smiled at him and then lifted one hand in a wave. "See you guys later!"

"Bye, Sportacus!" The three kids chorused, and as he flipped away, he missed the hint of disappointment lingering behind Stephanie's eyes.

* * *

Was it too much to ask for those kids to be lazy for _one day_? Robbie was sick and tired of hearing them laughing and playing. He could never get any peace and quiet! And it didn't help that that Sportaflop was always going around saving people with the flippity floppity and the arm thing.

Robbie needed a plan to get rid of Sportakook _forever_! But first, he could settle for the kids being unable to play. So he pulled out one of his many evil magazines and thumbed through it.

"Let's see. What could stop those kids from playing and send them inside to be lazy?" Robbie asked himself. "Aha!"

He pressed his finger against a picture of the Weather Manipulator 4000 (now with a tornado setting).

"It's perfect!" He cried, tempted to commence a happy jig (but that would mean moving). "Those kids won't be able to play outside if it's raining!"

It was a brilliant plan! So Robbie picked up his phone and dialed the number in the magazine.

"Yes, hello," he spoke into the phone. "I'd like to order one of your Weather Manipulators. The 4000 version. Thank you."

Almost immediately upon hanging up, a wooden crate dropped in front of Robbie. He nearly jumped in surprise, but that would have been too much work.

"That was fast," he mused.

He got to his feet and opened the crate. The Weather Manipulator 4000…It was beautiful!

"With this, I can make it to where those kids never play again!" He exclaimed with an evil grin. "And if they never come outside, Sportacus will have no reason to come down from his airship! I'm a genius!"

This warranted a hearty pat on the back. So naturally, Robbie patted himself on the back.


	2. Chapter 2

Stephanie liked Sportacus a lot. He was her friend. But sometimes she wished he could be more than that. The little girl part of her wanted a father more than anything. Don't get her wrong! She loved her mother, who was back at home (it had taken forever for her to convince her mom to let her come to LazyTown). And she loved her uncle Milford. But there were some things that dads did better than anyone. Like playing with her, drying her tears when she was upset, laughing with her when she was happy, and always knowing exactly what to say when she was feeling down. Sportacus did virtually all of those things and more! But Stephanie was too embarrassed about her feelings to say anything (it's not like Sportacus saw her as family). She wasn't even sure Sportacus knew she was fatherless. Still, she couldn't help but feel disappointed when he left after saving Stingy without staying to play for a while.

"Hey, does it look like rain?" Ziggy asked, interrupting Stephanie's train of thought.

She shaded her eyes and turned her gaze to the sky. It really did look stormy all of a sudden. But that was weird. It had been perfectly sunny not two minutes ago!

"Ah! I can't let my ball get wet!" Stingy cried, quickly making his way over to his car.

"You think we should go inside, Stephanie?" Ziggy asked uncertainly.

Stephanie was about to say that maybe the storm would pass right over them when the clouds opened and rain came pouring down. She shrieked and tried to shield her head with her arms as she ran for cover. "Come on, Ziggy!"

"Right behind you, Stephanie!"

By the time the two kids made it to the shelter of her uncle's house, they were drenched. Stephanie's usually fluffy, bright pink hair was several shades darker and plastered against her head like a wet mop.

"Oh, Stephanie! Ziggy! Are you two all right?" Mayor Meanswell asked nervously, placing a towel around each of their shoulders.

"We're fine, Uncle."

"Yeah, we're okay, Mayor! That rain came out of nowhere!"

"Yes, yes. I'm just glad you're okay. Oh, but, Stephanie-"

"Yes, Uncle?"

"Where is your bag? And your diary?"

Stephanie's eyes snapped wide open as she patted each hip in a vain attempt to find her missing purse. "Oh, no! I have to get it back!"

Her diary held all of her favorite memories since she came to LazyTown! She couldn't lose it. She _wouldn't_. Which was why she gripped her towel tighter around her shoulders and darted for the door.

"Stephanie, wait!" The Mayor and Ziggy cried out, but she was already out the door.

* * *

Ah, this was the life. No kids running around playing and making noise, and best of all, no Sportacus! Robbie could definitely get used to this.

But just as he was about to sit down and relax, his periscope beeped. And that could only mean one thing.

"They're supposed to be inside!" He groaned, taking a peek through his looking device. "Bah, it's that annoying pink girl! I need to get rid of her. What can my Weather Manipulator do that will send her inside for good?"

Robbie marched over to his machine and glanced over the many dials. Could he make it snow? No, kids loved playing in snow. What about…

"Aha!" He held up a finger. "Wind! I'll blow the pink girl into next week!"

He turned the dial up as far as it could go. That would teach her!

* * *

Stephanie shivered beneath her now soaked towel. Why had she thought this was a good idea? She couldn't even see through all this rain so there was no way she'd be able to find the bench where she'd left her diary. And to make matters worse, the wind was starting to pick up!

In fact…the rain was stopping and the wind was blowing _hard_. Like, _tornado_ hard.

Stephanie grabbed the nearest wall and looked over her shoulder to see an _actual_ tornado swirling along the ground, sucking up everything in its path. Several trees were uprooted and walls were pulled apart brick by brick.

Stephanie gripped the wall for dear life because she could clearly see what else was in the tornado's path.

Herself.

* * *

Sportacus had been surprised when the rain suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was even more surprised when the rain abruptly stopped and the wind picked up. And…was that a tornado? He hoped the kids were safe. They _had_ been playing outside.

Just as he was thinking this, his crystal beeped like crazy. And it only glowed that bright for one person.

"Stephanie needs me!"

Sportacus utilized his racing heart and upped adrenaline to climb down the airship's ladder in record time.

"Stephanie!" He yelled as loud as he could over the roaring wind, fighting the invisible force toward the girl. She was clinging to the opposite side of the wall several yards in front of him.

"Sportacus!" She screamed back. "Help!"

The pure terror in her voice spurred Sportacus into a faster pace. He reached across the wall toward her, trying his best to ignore the rapidly approaching tornado. "Stephanie, grab my hand!"

She shook her head, glancing from Sportacus, to the tornado, and back. "I can't!"

"Yes, you can!" Sportacus insisted, gripping the wall with one hand and shaking the other at Stephanie. "You can't stay here!"

The fear in her eyes made him want to pull her close and shield her from danger, but he couldn't do that unless she let him help her. "Come on, Stephanie! You can do it."

She pursed her lips in determination and reached for his hand. Just as she grasped his fingers, the tornado passed right behind her. Her legs flew out from underneath her toward the swirling wind and she was suddenly parallel to the ground.

"Sportacus!" She shrieked, trying to grab him with her other hand, but the wind was so strong that she couldn't even lift her arm.

Sportacus hung on to her with one hand with all of his might, but it was still slick with rain water. And he could tell that Stephanie had realized the same thing by the defeated look in her eyes.

"Don't let go!" He called to her, his own fear gripping his heart. He'd thought he wasn't afraid of anything. But this…being so close to losing Stephanie…this was terrifying.

Stephanie bit her lip and shook her head. "I can't hold on. I'm sorry, Sportacus!"

" _NO!"_ He yelled, trying his best to hold on to her slippery fingers, but the wind was relentless and before his very eyes, she was torn from his grasp.

She let out one last cry of " _Sportacus!_ " before she flew into the tornado and disappeared.

" _Stephanie!_ " Sportacus cried in anguish, sinking to his knees behind the relative safety of the wall as the tornado passed. It seemed as if the swirling gray cloud had accepted Stephanie and was content to leave Sportacus alone.

He felt hollow. Empty. He'd always been able to save anyone and everyone in LazyTown. And Stephanie…Stephanie had been, quite frankly, the one he was most fond of. If he had a daughter, he would want her to be just like Stephanie.

He was never going to have a chance to save her ever again. He was never going to see that bright smile that seemed to light up everything and everyone around it. When was the last time they'd danced to the Bing Bang song? Had he dipped her at the end, cherishing the one time of the day that he got to hold her without having saved her first?

A single tear traced its way down Sportacus' cheek and he threw his head back, screaming to the sky, _"STEPHANIE!"_

She was gone. Stephanie was gone.

Forever.


	3. Chapter 3

The pink girl was gone.

Forever.

Robbie wasn't sure how he felt about that. When he'd said he wanted to get rid of her he didn't mean…death (that seemed like a word with such finality to Robbie). He'd just wanted her to stay inside and stop inventing games.

Robbie thought that seeing Sportacus in distress would make him feel happy and triumphant. But it really just made him feel…sad. And maybe a little guilty.

For once in his life, Robbie wanted to make things right. He knew he could never bring the pink gir…Stephanie…back, but the least he could do was turn off the Weather Manipulator 4000. He hadn't even realized the highest wind setting would cause a tornado in the first place.

So Robbie decided it would be best to turn off the machine. He might have even muttered a "sorry" in the process.

* * *

Sportacus didn't know how long he sat there on his knees with his head lowered in grief. Without a doubt it was the longest amount of time he'd ever spent not moving. He barely even noticed when the weather returned to normal. The only thoughts running through his mind were "I should have saved her" and an agonized form of "Stephanie!"

He finally snapped out of his miserable state when Ziggy ran up to him.

"Sportacus! Sportacus!" The boy panted, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. "Do you know where Stephanie is?"

"Yes, where is she?" The Mayor, who was right behind Ziggy, asked. He held a small pink book in his hands. "She ran out into the storm to retrieve her diary, but it seems as if she never made it that far."

Sportacus didn't say anything for several seconds. Instead, he stared at the diary. Was the little book worth Stephanie risking her life?

 _"No,"_ a little voice inside his head whispered. _"She died trying to get a_ book. _That was not smart at all."_

And yet, another voice murmured, _"Yes. That diary held all her memories of LazyTown. And you of all people should know how hard it is to lose your memories."_

"Sportacus?" Ziggy asked gently, dragging him out of his thoughts. "What's wrong?"

Sportacus took a deep breath and flicked his eyes from the book, to Ziggy, and then to the Mayor. "A tornado came through town."

"Oh, _dear._ A tornado?" The Mayor repeated with a gasp.

"Yes. And Stephanie…" Sportacus trailed off. He couldn't do this.

But…he _had_ to. It was his duty as the hero who had failed to save someone everybody cared about.

"What happened to Stephanie?" Ziggy asked, his voice very timid and small. It was as if he knew what was coming.

"When I found her, she was very close to the tornado," Sportacus explained, trying to keep his voice steady and even. "I grabbed her hand just as the tornado passed behind her. But…"

"But?" The Mayor urged, his voice as quiet as Ziggy's.

Sportacus took another deep breath. "But her hand was wet and slick with rainwater. The wind was too strong and I…lost her."

The end of his story was met with complete silence. He chanced looking at the Mayor's and Ziggy's expressions. They both looked shocked and then (and this broke Sportacus' heart even more than it already was) crestfallen, distressed, and miserable all rolled into one.

"I am sorry," Sportacus hurried to say. "If I had only managed to hold on to her tighter-"

"How will I tell her mother?" The Mayor whispered to himself as if he hadn't heard Sportacus' apology at all.

"Stephanie…" Ziggy breathed, his eyes filling with tears.

"I am sorry," Sportacus repeated, averting his gaze to the ground in shame. "I…I think I should go."

The two LazyTowners didn't even notice when Sportacus left without so much as a one-handed cartwheel. He didn't bend his arms in his signature move, either. He simply…walked back to his airship, his heart heavy with grief and shame.

* * *

A few weeks passed and no one even set foot outside.

After hearing the news about Stephanie, Pixel succumbed to his video games. They were the only things that were capable of successfully distracting him.

Trixie stopped playing tricks and practical jokes. She didn't even have the heart to scold Stingy when he was being selfish. Although, that could have had something to do with Stingy not using the word "mine" in three weeks. Stephanie's death had affected him as well.

The Mayor did eventually break the news to Stephanie's mother, Emelia, who became beside herself with grief. First, she'd lost Stephanie's father to a house collapsing during a hurricane, and now she'd lost her daughter to a tornado. (The irony wasn't lost on her, either, and that only made this whole situation worse.)

The Mayor himself was so distraught that he could barely get any work done. Fortunately, Bessie Busybody's own sorrow didn't stop her from assisting Milford with his duties.

Ziggy sequestered himself in his room and stopped eating lollipops. They only reminded him of the first time he had met Stephanie and had offered her a lollipop. In fact, Ziggy pretty much stopped eating candy altogether. He was too sad.

Even Robbie gave up on his evil schemes. Granted, the kids weren't doing anything worth stopping anyway, but still.

And Sportacus…Sportacus still kept his airship stationed above LazyTown, but he never came down anymore. He'd spent the first week or so after Stephanie's death searching for her, faintly hoping that the tornado had simply deposited her somewhere else. That she was alive and well. But it didn't take long for him to give up on that futile dream. He still exercised (he was still Sportacus, after all), but not with near as much enthusiasm.

Yes, everyone's attitudes had been altered because of Stephanie's death. When she had arrived, she'd changed LazyTown for the better. And now that she was gone, it changed again. LazyTown wasn't the same anymore. Not by a long shot.

And after a few weeks turned into a few months without any signs of LazyTown going back to the way it was, it seemed as if it wouldn't be the same ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

The girl's eyes flickered open to find nothing but a bright white light shining all around her, causing her to squint. She felt weird and heavy, like she'd been asleep for a long time and hadn't moved an inch.

"You're okay, dear," a kind voice sounded next to her.

The girl tilted her head to the left, recognizing the soft feel of a pillow beneath her cheek. She was in a bed with (ugh) white sheets. A thought about wishing there was more pink leapt into her mind, but she wasn't entirely sure where it had come from.

The kind voice belonged to a pretty woman with curly black hair and green eyes. She was wearing what looked like a nurse's uniform.

The girl rubbed her eyes with both hands. "Where am I?"

"You're in the SmartCity Hospital." The woman's voice grew even gentler as she continued. "You arrived here after someone found you on the outskirts of town. You were in pretty bad shape."

The girl frowned. She didn't feel as if she'd been hurt. Other than feeling sort of heavy, she seemed perfectly fine. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that, dear."

"I…" She stopped, her frown deepening. That was strange. Why couldn't she remember anything?

"We'll start with something simple," the woman said with a reassuring smile. "What's your name?"

"It's…" The girl stopped again. She thought as hard as she could but couldn't come up with a name. "I'm sorry, I…I can't seem to remember _anything._ "

There was nothing but a gaping black hole in her mind where her memories were supposed to be. And that terrified her. Her heartbeat accelerated (as did the beeping sound near her head) and her breathing quickened.

The woman laid a calming hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, dear. Try to stay calm. Would you like to hear the details of your condition?" She asked, cringing afterward as if she thought the question was too heartless.

But the girl nodded. She would much rather focus on the things she _did_ know than on those she _didn't._

"All right, then. Among other injuries, you took a nasty blow to the head and have been in a coma for four months. That's why your wounds are completely healed. The doctors said it wouldn't be surprising if you woke up with missing memories."

Four _months_? But that was so long! Did she have any family? Friends? Were they worried about her? Or maybe…

A sudden feeling of hope bubbled up in the girl's chest. "Is my family here?"

The woman pressed her lips together. "No, I'm afraid not. Why?" Her eyes lit up. "Do you remember them?"

The flare of hope vanished and the girl sighed. She closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head. "No."

"Oh." The woman shook off her disappointment and offered a smile. "Well, my name is Janice. And I'll be taking care of you until your memories come back."

"Do you think they will?" The girl asked, a bit of hope creeping its way back into her.

"Of course!" Janice reassured, beginning to work on unhooking the girl from the various tubes plugged into her. There was no need to continue using life support now that she was awake. "And until that happens, you'll be staying with me."

The girl's eyes widened with surprise. "I will?"

Janice laughed. "You didn't think we'd make you stay here, did you?"

The girl blushed. That's exactly what she'd thought. "I guess not."

"Good. Now why don't you head in there," the woman pointed to the door near the front of the room. "And clean yourself up while I go talk to your doctor?"

The girl hesitated as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She couldn't remember ever being in a hospital, but something seemed off about this. "Don't you have to run tests or something before I leave?"

Janice pursed her lips again. Something about that movement triggered a thought in the girl's mind. Without knowing why, she half expected the woman to say something about this decision being ' _miiine_.'

"In most cases, yes, but I think what's best for you right now is a sense of familiarity, don't you?"

The girl nodded slowly. It _would_ be nice to stay in an actual house, especially if it helped jog her memory.

"Then it's settled." Janice's smile returned. "I'll get you out of here in a jiffy. Don't you worry about a thing."

And then she was out the door, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts.

She sighed and got to her feet, cautiously making her way to the bathroom. She was a little unsteady after four months of being in bed, but it didn't take long for her to get used to using her legs again. The ease with which she transitioned back to walking made her wonder if she'd been someone who had moved frequently. Being active sounded like something she knew a lot about. But maybe that was just her trying to grasp at any form of memory she could find.

The girl stepped into the bathroom and the first thing she did was take a glance in the mirror. She might as well have been looking at a stranger.

The girl who stared back at her seemed to be about ten years old. Her eyes were a chocolatey brown and framed by thick eyelashes. Her bright pink hair was long enough to tickle a spot several inches below her shoulders. Something about her hair was wrong. Her gut was telling her it needed to be shorter.

The girl shook her head and turned her attention to the clothes draped over the edge of the bathtub. There was a striped pink dress and light pink leggings. Pink and white sneakers sat on the floor next to the tub. On the counter by the sink rested a dark pink headband and some thin bracelets. Most people would probably be skeptical of all the pink, but the girl felt nothing but joy. These clothes were much better than the dull blue hospital gown she was wearing. And she remembered she liked pink! That was something at least.

So that was why she dressed eagerly, and by the time Janice came back, the girl had cleaned up enough to be presentable in public. She had even found a hairbrush and ran it through her hair, returning her flat pink hair to a fluffy state.

Janice smiled. "Don't you look lovely?"

The girl giggled and performed a little twirl. She was feeling better already.

"All right." Janice clapped her hands together once. "You're cleared to leave. Ready to go?"

"Almost." The girl frowned ever so slightly. "First, I need a name."

Obviously, she wanted to go by her own name, but since she couldn't remember it, she figured she at least needed something that people could call her. She didn't want to be called "girl" all the time.

Janice's smile dimmed a little, as if she felt sad for the girl. "What would you like to be called?"

She looked down at her pink attired. "Pinky won't do," she said with a strained laugh as she tried to make light of the situation.

Saying 'Pinky' aloud struck an elusive memory in her brain and she thought she saw a girl with three brown pigtails, but the image was gone as fast as it had come.

The girl shook her head to clear it and tried to smile at Janice. "But I think Rosie is nice enough."

Janice's smile brightened again. "Rosie it is. Now let's get out of here."

'Rosie' followed Janice out of the room and cocked her head curiously. "Don't you have your job to do?"

The woman shook her head. "Nope. I took the rest of the day off so I could get you home."

The sweet act warmed Rosie's heart and her strained smile melted into a real one. She wished she could go to her actual home, but she didn't think staying with Janice for now would be too bad.

"You know, I have a daughter about your age."

Rosie's eyes lit up. She didn't know how, but she had a feeling that she loved making new friends. "Really?"

"Really! You two will get along great."

A little skip came into Rosie's step as she and Janice left the hospital. She still wanted her memory back _so bad_ , but at least it would be easy to be happy (well, as happy as was possible when you couldn't remember who you were) while she waited.


	5. Chapter 5

***feels slightly guilty at updating so fast while my other stories await more chapters* I needed a break from my other fics, okay? A breath of fresh air. I'm hoping the writer juices will start flowing more and I'll be able to get back to my Avengers stuff. (No promises, though.)**

 **Okay. *shuts up and let's you get on with _Remember Me_ ***

* * *

Trixie had had enough. She missed Stephanie just as much as everyone else, but after four months of wallowing in sorrow and misery, she was ready for a change. So she wrote a note to Sportacus and slid it into the tube connected to the mailbox. She tilted her head back and watched the container holding her letter shoot upward.

Trixie just hoped Sportacus would come. No one had seen him in four months. He'd disappeared the day Stephanie had…Trixie could barely bring herself to think or say the word…died. It just seemed so wrong to associate the term with her best friend, who had always been so full of energy and life. Even after four months, Trixie was still finding herself humming to the tunes of 'The Spooky Song' and 'Bing Bang.'

But Trixie didn't want to think about any of that and be sad all over again. She couldn't shake any sense into the other LazyTowners if she was sad.

She glanced at her watch and tapped her foot impatiently. Where was Sportacus? He'd never been this slow before.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard a whoosh behind her and a way too dejected to be Sportacus voice saying, "Hello, Trixie. You wanted to see me?"

Once she laid her eyes upon the man she hadn't seen in months, Trixie could guess why he had taken to so long to arrive. And that was because she doubted he had wanted to come in the first place. His shoulders were slumped and his usual smile was nowhere to be found. He still looked like the Sportacus she remembered, from the blue cap and goggles to the blue boots, but he lacked the usual gleam in his eyes. The gleam that told Trixie he was happy and everything was all right in the world. Not seeing that glow in his gaze made her heart hurt even more than it already was.

But she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, trying to stand as tall as she could. "We need to talk about Stephanie."

Even more light drained from Sportacus' ice blue eyes (if that was possible) and his shoulders dropped ever further. "Stephanie?"

The single word was filled with so much pain that Trixie almost dropped the subject altogether, but in a way, it only proved to her that something needed to be done _right now_.

"Yes," she replied with a firm nod. "Everyone's been sitting on their butts since she, uh…" Trixie cleared her throat. "And I want to do something about it."

Sportacus looked like he felt even worse at her inability to say that Stephanie had died, but at the same time, it almost seemed like he was eager to hear Trixie's plan when he asked, "Like what?"

"Well, for starters, you can stop sulking around up in your airship and actually live a little."

He blinked in surprise at the rebuke, but he didn't berate her. She did have a point, after all.

"I mean, I get that you feel bad and everything, but it wasn't your fault."

"Trixie, I-"

"No," she interrupted, her tone sharp. "If Stephanie were here, she would tell you there was nothing you could have done. She would want you to get on with your life. The same goes for all of us. Pinky would be ashamed of us if she saw what we've become since she…you know."

Sportacus still looked disheartened, but he gave Trixie a slightly puzzled look that held a hint of pride in it. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Well, duh! I said it, didn't I?" she teased, knowing that if Stephanie were in fact here, she would be scolding Trixie and telling her not to be so rude. But honestly, Trixie didn't care at that moment, because Sportacus was starting to look a little bit more like himself.

"Can you do me a favor, Trixie?"

"Depends on the favor."

"Give everyone in LazyTown a speech like the one you just gave me. They need to hear it."

Trixie grinned for the first time in what felt like forever. "Yeah, I can do that. No problem."

Sportacus rewarded her with a smile. Granted, it didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Thank you, Trixie. I haven't been much of a hero lately. But you are definitely one today."

Trixie practically glowed with pride. "Aw, shucks, it's nothing. But hey," she said, stopping him as he was about to flip away."

"Yes?"

"Just because I'm a hero today, doesn't mean I want the job permanently. That's your thing. Okay?"

A miniscule twinkle came into Sportacus' eyes (so small that Trixie thought she might have been seeing things) as he winked at her. "Okay."

* * *

Sportacus told himself he _did_ feel better. Really. Trixie had _truly_ snapped him out of his depressed state and now he could get back to his life of saving people. Things would go back to the way they were before and-

Oh, who was he kidding? There was still a Stephanie sized hole in his heart. He really did feel a little better after speaking with Trixie (talking to his airship computer just didn't cut it), but his life would never be the same now that Stephanie was gone. He was being foolish trying to convince himself otherwise.

But…he would try to be as cheerful and heroic as he had been before. For the kids' sake. He knew they were hurting just as much as he was. And really, he had been incredibly selfish over the past few months. They had needed him more than ever and he had hidden in his airship. It almost made Sportacus feel sick to his stomach when he thought about how _un_ heroic he had been.

"I have to go apologize," he said to himself with a determination he hadn't felt in ages. "I have to make it up to them."

He whirled around and was about to bend his arms in his signature move when he spotted a slick black tuft of hair disappearing behind a tree. And he only knew one person with hair like that.

Sportacus performed a couple of one-handed cartwheels over to the tree and poked his head around it. "Hi, Robbie," he greeted with a small, forced smile.

Robbie let out a yelp of surprise and fell back on his rear, simultaneously glaring up at Sportacus as he did so. "Don't you know it's not nice to scare people?"

The town hero arched one eyebrow. "Don't you know it's not nice to stalk people?"

"I wasn't stalking you," Robbie argued, getting to his feet and straightening his vest. "I was…checking to make sure this tree was sturdy enough for my hammock."

Sportacus crossed his arms and shook his head. "What do you want, Robbie?"

"Well." The villain peered at Sportacus, mimicking his stance. "I was just wondering if you'd gotten over the pink girl yet."

Now don't take Robbie's behavior the wrong way. It wasn't that he was heartless (okay, maybe he was a little heartless). He'd been shaken up by Stephanie's death, too. It was that after four months of no good influence (Stephanie and Sportacus had provided plenty of that when they'd been around), he'd become bitter and bored. He was tired of watching the citizens of LazyTown sink deeper into despair. Besides, Robbie had never been good at thinking before he spoke.

Sportacus' eyes hardened. It was a very unfamiliar look when it came to the town hero. " _Stephanie._ Her name is…was…Stephanie."

"Whatever."

Sportacus took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't let Robbie get to him. "No. I have not 'gotten over her.' She will always be on my mind and in my heart. Is that all you wanted to know?"

"And here I thought getting rid of her would make life easier. But _no._ I have to deal with a sulky Sportakook," Robbie muttered to himself.

But Sportacus heard him. "What?" he asked, his voice tense with barely suppressed rage.

The villain was starting to get nervous now, but we've already established that he didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. "I thought the Weather Manipulator was a good idea," he went on, still murmuring to himself. He was so used to doing it that he forgot other people could probably hear him. "Apparently, I was wrong. I hate it when that happens!"

"Weather Manipulator…" Sportacus' eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in anger. He lunged forward and gathered Robbie's vest in his fists. Even though he was shorter than the villain, he was still strong enough to lift him an inch or two above the ground.

" _You_ caused the tornado," Sportacus snapped, his voice a low growl. " _You_ are responsible for Stephanie's death."

Now Robbie had never seen Sportacus like this. The worst look he'd ever gotten from the blue elf was one of exasperation. But the one he was getting right now almost looked like…hatred.

"Hey, don't do anything you'll regret," Robbie said, not without some apprehension. "In my defense, I didn't realize the wind dial could make tornadoes. That's what I get for ignoring the fine print," he finished with yet another mutter.

Sportacus suddenly shoved Robbie to the ground, causing him to land on his rear again (there was definitely going to be a bruise there in the morning).

"If you don't want me doing anything I'll regret, Robbie," Sportacus began, his voice quiet. It would have been less scary if he had been yelling. "Then I suggest you get out of my sight."

Well, Robbie felt kind of humiliated now (he hadn't _really_ meant to make Sportaflop so angry), but he couldn't obey quickly enough. He stomped off, muttering to himself about never winning.

Once he had left, Sportacus let out a rare, weary sigh. He wanted nothing more than to get Robbie thrown in jail, or better yet, out of town. But was that just his grief over Stephanie talking? Technically, Robbie _had_ been responsible. The tornado hadn't been an accident. Although Robbie had mentioned that he hadn't created it on purpose.

Sportacus shook his head to clear it and started back toward the center of town. He'd worry about Robbie later. He didn't want to put any more stress on the kids, especially since he wanted to make up his four month absence to them. Going after Robbie would only add a level of unnecessary confusion.

Stephanie would have wanted him to get on with his life, Trixie had said.

 _I'll try, Stephanie. I promise you. I'll try._


End file.
